Chapter 585: Chapter 502: Xiu Sect_2
The eerie atmosphere instantly alerted Yang Xiao. He flipped his hand over, holding the Soul-Capturing Mirror in his left and the Human Bone Staff in his right, immediately bracing himself for battle. He cautiously approached the sofa and when he reached the front of it, Yang Xiao sharply inhaled.
On the sofa, four individuals sat side by side, each one’s eyes closed with a mysterious smile etched on their lips. To the left was a robust middle-aged man, and to the right, a simply dressed young woman. In the middle were two children, a boy and a girl, aged around seven or eight. However, by this time, all four were already dead.
Initially, Yang Xiao assumed that the middle-aged man was the homeowner, Boss Wu. But upon noticing the man’s athletic shoes and the calluses covering his fingertips, Yang Xiao concluded that he must be a bodyguard. As for the simply dressed young woman, she was likely the live-in nanny who looked after the children.
Soon, in the upstairs master bedroom, Yang Xiao found Boss Wu in pajamas, lying peacefully next to his wife on the bed. Both spouses lay still, their eyes closed, their smiles mirroring those of the children downstairs.
The duo was covered with a blanket up to their chests, their hands placed one over the other on their abdomens. At first glance, they appeared to be sleeping. However, upon checking, sure enough, they were dead.
It must have been a case of their secrets being exposed, prompting their assassination by someone behind the scenes. Yet, what truly shocked Yang Xiao was the method of killing. The familiar smiles on the victims’ faces strongly resembled those induced by his "Ghost Dream."
After his arrival, he didn’t spot any enemies. Sensing something amiss as he entered the villa, he decisively took out the Human Bone Staff to scan the area, but detected no evident malice.
"Damn it!"
Only at this moment did Yang Xiao realize he had been deceived. By the time he decided to leave the scene, it was already too late. The sound of concerted footsteps echoed outside; the villa was surrounded, and the moves of the opponents were swift and silent.
Using the Soul-Capturing Mirror to survey, Yang Xiao soon spotted a familiar face among those encircling him outside: a grim man with a stern face, short grey hair, dressed in the black uniform of the Patrol Defense Office, holding a long spear wrapped in grey cloth.
A chill ran through Yang Xiao, as he never expected to cross paths with his adversary Qu Muzhi under such circumstances.
"Attention inside, you are surrounded. Surrendering your weapons is your only way out; further resistance will lead you to a dead end!" a male team member, wielding a megaphone, started his psychological warfare, addressing the villa’s occupants.
With the Soul-Capturing Mirror in hand, Yang Xiao knew he could still escape, but fleeing would not clear the suspicions against him; instead, it might provide his detractors with leverage. This whole setup was a trap, and his entry into the villa had undoubtedly been recorded.
All the talk of a business rivalry targeting Zhao was a falsehood. The real intention was to use this ploy to kill him, drawing him here to exploit the covert discord between the City Center Official Residence and their Lin’an Patrol Office, to take him down.
This villa district fell under the jurisdiction of the City Center Official Residence. A murder here would naturally be handled by them, and they had calculated even this.
If he were to flee, that would be tantamount to an admission of guilt. However, staying meant he would definitely be taken back to the City Center Official Residence by Qu Muzhi that night. Once there, all was uncertain, as Qu Muzhi had been suspicious of him for more than just a day or two.
After a tough decision, Yang Xiao first called Nalan Shuo to explain the situation, then pushed open the front door and stepped out.
"Yang Xiao?" Qu Muzhi frowned, "How come you are here?"
"There are six bodies inside, four on the downstairs sofa and two in the upstairs bedroom. They died in a strange manner, killed by a magic artifact." Yang Xiao sighed and gave a wry smile, "I’ve made too many enemies recently. I’ve been set up and calculated against."
After an initial examination of the scene, Qu Muzhi took off his rubber gloves, walked out the door, and faced Yang Xiao, who was now under custody, and said solemnly, "Captain Yang, according to the rules, I must take you back to the station for further questioning. I hope you cooperate."
But just as Yang Xiao was being escorted to the car, several vehicles rushed in from afar, led by Nalan Shuo, followed by an indignant Beibei and Big Bear.
Seeing Director Nalan, Qu Muzhi also had to greet him. Nevertheless, after understanding the full situation, Director Nalan didn’t demand Yang Xiao’s immediate release but insisted that during the detention, he should be treated reasonably. After all, he was a legitimate Investigative Captain, and underhanded tactics should not be employed against their own people.
"Rest assured, Director Nalan, I have already reported to Chief Huang, and he agrees. We cannot let outsiders ridicule us amongst ourselves; I also believe Captain Yang is innocent," Qu Muzhi replied candidly.
Without concrete evidence, the personnel from the City Center Official Residence also treated Yang Xiao with caution, not searching his body, not checking his phone, not confiscating his belongings, only confining him in a room shielded from signals without harassing him further.
Yang Xiao was patient. After sharing everything he had experienced, he began waiting patiently.
During this waiting period, he wasn’t idle but pondered who might be plotting against him. The prime suspect was the head of the Resentment Sect’s Wounded Door, with whom his feud was long-standing and deeply ingrained. Next was Mo Daidai. He had just met Mo Daidai’s recently recovered sister when he was set up. Could this be too coincidental? This was what he feared the most; compared to the Resentment Sect, Yang Xiao found the elusive Mo Daidai much more formidable.
